So… I have thoughts on this, there is a reason the heyday of formal dueling went away.
The concept that ones honor was an intangable part of ones person is not as guarded as it was in the 1790s.
We know how to make not shit guns.
The point of the formal duel was to stand your ground against the risk of being hurt, not to purpously maim your opponent. This only worked because smooth bore pistols could be weilded by the common man, and they were unlikely to hit the other person (even if you were practiced). The other part was having your second negotiate with the other party on your behalf and waiting a full day at a minimum before any actions were taken (other than making arrangments for arms, a venue and hopefully a doctor).
This whole process would simply not work in [current year] because none of the societal factors are in place. People would not patiently wait 24 hours before taking action, honor is not ascribed to be part of ones person these days, and guns work… they shoot where you point them (so skill is a much bigger factor now than luck, which defeats the purpous).
I so wish as a society we had a conflict resolver that fit a similar role, but thats pure fantasy.
Well, to be fair, we know how to make both good guns and shit guns. We didn’t forget how to make crap guns; we just stopped making them. If we really wanted to, we could probably make deliberately poor guns intended just for dueling. We could make low-powered inaccurate guns. Make them low powered so that a lucky shot directly to the aorta would kill someone, but even a shot right in the center of mass won’t be lethal. And the low accuracy ensures a low chance of a critical hit.
Now, there are bigger problems with the idea, as you note. But at least the firearms issue would be perfectly solvable through the manufacture of special dueling pistols.
So… I have thoughts on this, there is a reason the heyday of formal dueling went away.
The concept that ones honor was an intangable part of ones person is not as guarded as it was in the 1790s.
We know how to make not shit guns.
The point of the formal duel was to stand your ground against the risk of being hurt, not to purpously maim your opponent. This only worked because smooth bore pistols could be weilded by the common man, and they were unlikely to hit the other person (even if you were practiced). The other part was having your second negotiate with the other party on your behalf and waiting a full day at a minimum before any actions were taken (other than making arrangments for arms, a venue and hopefully a doctor).
This whole process would simply not work in [current year] because none of the societal factors are in place. People would not patiently wait 24 hours before taking action, honor is not ascribed to be part of ones person these days, and guns work… they shoot where you point them (so skill is a much bigger factor now than luck, which defeats the purpous).
I so wish as a society we had a conflict resolver that fit a similar role, but thats pure fantasy.
Well, to be fair, we know how to make both good guns and shit guns. We didn’t forget how to make crap guns; we just stopped making them. If we really wanted to, we could probably make deliberately poor guns intended just for dueling. We could make low-powered inaccurate guns. Make them low powered so that a lucky shot directly to the aorta would kill someone, but even a shot right in the center of mass won’t be lethal. And the low accuracy ensures a low chance of a critical hit.
Now, there are bigger problems with the idea, as you note. But at least the firearms issue would be perfectly solvable through the manufacture of special dueling pistols.